PASTEL
LIKE THE OIL AND WAX CRAYONS, IS SOMETIMES THOUGHT OF AS PRIMARILY A DRAWING MEDIUMBECAUSE THE MATERIAL IS APPLIED DRY. SINCE IT
USES COLOR, HOWEVER, IT IS JUST AS WELL TO THINK OF IT AS A PAINTING MEDIUM. PASTEL IS, IN FACT, THE PUREST OF THE PAINTING TECHNIQUES :
THE STICKS OF COLOR ARE COMPOSED MOSTLY OF PIGMENT, WITH VERY LITTLE VEHICLE ADDED. ALTHOUGH CHALKS DUG FROM THE GROUND AND
MIXTURES OF COLORED CLAYS WITH WEAK BINDERS HAVE BEEN USED SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRUE PASTEL AS A SEPARATE
AND DISTINCT PAINTING MEDIUM DATES ONLY FROM AROUND THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. RED, WHITE AND BLACK CHALKS WERE
USED AS ACCENT HUES IN RENAISSANCE DRAWINGS, AND THERE ARE SOME WORKS IN FULL COLOR DRAWINGS FROM THE EARLY SEVENTEENTH
CENTURY, BUT THE TECHNIQUE WAS NOT FULLY REALIZED UNTIL ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS LATER.
|
|
